How do you make a 'round' design intimidating...?

DokiDokiTsuna 2023-07-25 18:53:54 UTC #1

Trying to work on this character:

As you can see he has two forms, both rather delicate-looking and abstract. But I want to make him a more aggressive third form, something big and scary that he can use on the rare occasions that he gets VERY angry. ^^ The thing is, I'm not really sure how to do it...

I keep visualizing things like this:

The first concept (big circle) definitely has the uncanny creep factor that I'm looking for...but I gotta be honest, I can't take it seriously at all; it just makes me laugh. XD
The second concept (small circles) feels more like a natural transformation of the character (particularly his more bug-like first form)...but it doesn't feel scary to me. I can't imagine this skrunkly caterpillar creature yelling at anyone...at least, not without also making me laugh. ^^;

So yeah, I'm just looking for inspiration. If you know any weird circle creatures that I might reference for this design, I'd appreciate it.

river121693 2023-07-25 19:08:11 UTC #2

I think making the frown into a smile would actually make him more scary. Aggressive doesn't have to be angry looking.

You could also try changing the eye shape to be more angry. He looks more surprised rn

See:

BlairFujin 2023-07-25 19:12:12 UTC #3

This actually reminds me of Halua and Emil from Nier games

HarryM 2023-07-25 19:12:32 UTC #4

I think being mindful of your "camera" angles will be real important. If you want imposing, make sure we're looking up at him, or he down on us. It doesn't necessarily have to be crazy dynamic, but it should be present. The big floating head in The Wizard of Oz might be a good example.

As for creepiness or intimidation, the way other characters react to him will help sell it, a lot. (Again, think of how the characters all cower before Oz). Or, how Scarlett Witch reacted to HULK in the first Avengers, for a modern example. That movie was bright and fun, and then Hulk comes in and for a brief window it turned into a genuine horror flick.

Hope that helps!

powerplantanimations 2023-07-25 19:15:14 UTC #5

Two words: Red Eyes :v

faisalhussein394 2023-07-25 19:17:33 UTC #6

Think of it this way: what if it doesn't need a face? which can be the scary part. The characters may never know how it reacts, whether satisfied or not and the part where it begins to show aggression came without warning. It just needs an evil aura like these:

Think of it like a cosmic horror.

DiegoPalacios 2023-07-25 19:20:33 UTC #7

I think you have some interesting elements that you can merge for a more uncanny and intimidating look:

For example, you could make a crawling creature with the green/white shapes as a patter around the circles that form the body, maybe these multiple circles can make different shapes to adapt and move in uncanny ways.

For the face, you can always mess with the anatomy, like adding extra eyes, a mouth or place these parts in unconventional zones of the body.

delladz 2023-07-25 19:46:24 UTC #8

There's like a tumblr post about it(can't find it rn rip) but any humanoid features this character may have(eyes, teeth, etc.) the more detailed it is, the more uncanny/intimidating it may seem. Think like that kirby meme where he takes off his shoes and has human feet??

I think what may also be beneficial is maybe sketchier outlines. Rn the round shape of this character is defined so we can see the shapes they are composed of. Using a "messier" brush to give off the vibe of "I am unhinged and can hurt you" may make it more menacing.

I really like the colors and the overall concept though!! I think if you just keep playing around, you'll get the results you want

NickRowler 2023-07-25 20:32:05 UTC #9

I find Jack in the Box to be a bit unsettling. I think it's his simplified expression which is very uncanny.

There is a robot in 20th Centurey Boys which reminds me of him. It just has this blank smile.

smokesalty 2023-07-26 01:10:01 UTC #10

I thought I'd give it a go!

I thought the fact he was almost "void-like"could work in making him a bit more creepy. Also having a simple circle shape contrast with more "realistic" facial features could add a bit to the uncanny valley. But your artstyle is very different from mine, it depends how much you wanna push it.

pfft trying to make a circle intimidating is harder than I thought

DokiDokiTsuna 2023-07-26 05:54:49 UTC #11

It really is...I must admit, I laughed out loud at almost every image in this thread. XD Maybe I personally am just incapable of feeling threatened by these kinds of character designs...

Also, I feel like 'evil smiley face' doesn't really work with this character in particular, because one of the most important aspects of his character concept is that, unlike other fantasy gods/dark magical girl mascots, he is NOT evil. He has his moments, but he's not a malicious entity; he should never look like he might be looking forward to hurting someone. Portraying him with a giant maniacal smile would send the wrong message.

Oddly enough, I feel like the answer might be something like this? Like, maybe the way to make him intimidating is to actually leave behind the simplistic circular shape language and suddenly make him look like A Person.

It gave me the idea to make him a stipple silhouette of a human being, like:

...I think if I could make this look a tad more realistic (maybe use an actual photo as a base) this could be it. ^^